Stents are placed or implanted within a blood vessel for treating stenoses, strictures or aneurysms therein. They are implanted to reinforce collapsing, partially occluded, weakened, or dilated sections of a blood vessel. They have also been implanted in other bodily vessels including arteries, veins, biliary ducts, urethras, fallopian tubes, bronchial tubes, the trachea and the esophagus.
Stents are typically either self-expanding or mechanically expandable via the application of radially outward force from within the stent, as by inflation of a balloon. An example of a balloon expandable stent is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,120. An example of a self-expanding stent is described in WO 96/26689. Hybrid stents, e.g. stents which are both self-expanding and mechanically expandable are also known. Examples of hybrid stents are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,621 and WO 01/08600.
Because stents are often delivered through tortuous vessels, it is important for a stent to have sufficient flexibility when in a delivery configuration. At the same time, it is desirable for a stent in an expanded configuration to exhibit sufficient scaffolding strength to maintain the patency of a vessel.
Although many stents have been designed with increased flexibility and scaffolding in mind, there remains a need for a stent which exhibits excellent flexibility and excellent scaffolding strength.
All U.S. patents and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72.